In this conversation, Amy Valdez Barker speaks with Dr. William Watley, renowned AME pastor, preacher, author, and senior advisor to TMC cohorts focusing on preaching, and Rev. Joe Clifford, pastor of Myers Park Presbyterian Church in Charlotte, and a longtime facilitator with TMC. Together they...
For several months, The Ministry Collaborative has worked to come alongside pastors, leaders, and congregations during this divisive and polarizing political season. Individuals and communities in our network have approached their ministry during this time in a variety of different ways, but all have sought...
The Ministry Collaborative continues to expand both geographically and strategically with a network that spans the United States, and beyond. We remain committed to serving pastors and equipping ministry in a variety of settings, especially the “hard” places - places that don’t have as many...
We asked ministry leaders from around the country to respond to some key questions TMC has been engaging with in recent months. For the last few weeks, we have been sharing some of their perspectives and insights. Through their responses, we hope you encounter a...
In this final post for our series featuring ministry leaders’ responses to key questions, we return once again to the subject of metrics. Previously, we highlighted TMC podcasts and blogs on the topic, explored methodologies and foci of evaluation techniques, and recognized the power of...
The Ministry Collaborative always seeks the perspectives, insights, and collective wisdom of ministry leaders in our network. And we always want to share our findings with others so that we can all learn and grow as we seek to carry out our ministries fully and...
The Ministry Collaborative has long been engaged in exploration and conversation about metrics. Metrics of “success” are complex when it comes to church and ministry. How do you measure the vitality of a congregation? was a question posed by staff member Ryan Bonfiglio earlier this...
This week’s prompt focuses on the tension most ministry contexts face as they discern what elements of ministry are fundamental, “anchoring,” and worth sustaining (at least for now!), and what elements might need to be adjusted, shifted, or even dropped. This type of shared discernment...
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I was the Facilitator for the first New York City cohort, and at the time, I was working in theological education on Christian leadership formation, so it seemed like a natural fit. What I discovered, though, was something quite different from my “day job.” While the content and topics of the curriculum was a crucial part of our gatherings, it was the community of mutual care and support that made the content relevant, not the other way around. And second, having three years of strong bonding created an extraordinarily resilient community that, in turn, was able to build up resilience in our leaders. I think every member of my cohort went through significant seasons of both joy and heartache, professionally and vocationally, during our time. And the cohort, in turn, lived out the exhortation of Romans 12:15, “rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep,” with a depth and integrity that I have rarely experienced, and often doing both in the same gathering. It was a privilege and a blessing to me and my own faith and ministry to be their facilitator, and I am eternally grateful to the Ministry Collaborative for calling me to that work!”
“It was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. It was unique to my particular situation. It was needed, appreciated and healing. It was affirming. Most valuable was the unspoken understanding of what we all were facing in our ministry context. There was a sense that we could finish each other’s sentences. Solidarity and empathy.”
Graduation Date:
May 23, 2021
“It was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. It was unique to my particular situation. It was needed, appreciated and healing. It was affirming. Most valuable was the unspoken understanding of what we all were facing in our ministry context. There was a sense that we could finish each other’s sentences. Solidarity and empathy.”
Graduation Date:
May 23, 2021
“I truly looked forward to this every week. The discussion topics, activities, and small group conversations were all very rich and meaningful. This experience gave me space to reflect on what’s happening right now in my congregation and community. It helped me to think about what might be next in my own ministry. It offered some very concrete ways I might work on equipping leaders in my congregation. I really enjoyed meeting colleagues from different places, denominations, and contexts–and learning from their experiences and reflections. I also appreciated hearing further conversation and reinforcement in the podcasts.”
Graduation Date:
July 14, 2021
“The experience was, in one word, enriching. It was timely as well. I was at a critical point in my own ministry and this literally breathed life back into me. The time went by so fast that I didn’t even realize two months had passed. To be able to share that type of camaraderie with other preachers, and realize that my struggles are not isolated, was liberating.”
Graduation Date:
March 18, 2021
“It was great to find confirmation and affirmation of my ministry through the voices of other pastors. I particularly enjoyed the focused time on talking about each of us as individuals and pastors, and not so much on what our churches look like.”
Graduation Date:
January 31st, 2020